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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. track — a song
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. band — a music group
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — to paddle
  14. track — a path
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. row — a line
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a ring
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com